“Death Gonna Straighten Him”
Trumpeteers
Score 5056
1953
The Trumpeteers were one of many early quartets that emulated the famed Golden Gate Quartet, but one of only a few that stayed true to jubilee-style singing long after most of its competitors adopted a harder, Pentecostal performance style. Although best known for putting “Milky White Way,” their first recording and biggest hit, on the gospel map, the Trumpeteers made dozens of fine records for Score (Aladdin subsidiary), King, Okeh, Gotham, Grand, Nashboro, and Jubilee.
“Death Gonna Straighten Him” was the quartet’s final side for Score, recorded June 29, 1953 at the RCA Studio in New York City. It is a variation on the “church saints as sinners” theme: God as final inspector on a celestial conveyor belt of passed-away passive aggressives, liars, cheaters, and smiling phonies. “Death” is also a marvelous example of the Trumpeteers’ close harmony and precise call-and-response delivery, jubilee music dressed in black tie and tails.
Written by : Bob Marovich
Bob Marovich is a gospel music historian, author, and radio host. Founder of Journal of Gospel Music blog (formally The Black Gospel Blog) and producer of the Gospel Memories Radio Show.
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